Archive for the ‘Sci-fi’ Category

But I’ve been having some family problems at home as well as sheer writer’s burnout!

Add that to post-graduation letdown and I’m a bit of a mess. (You can see a few pics of the ceremony on my MySpace at http://myspace.com/hippiezoe . But if you add me, make sure you say you came via this blog! Also, you know, your opinion of the blog :-P)

“I’m not surprised,” murmured the Doctor resignedly. “I never should have told you.”

“You tried to defend your planet,” said Martha slowly, “when you thought it was under fire. Why wouldn’t you? I’m sure I would have done the same…”

The Doctor remained quiet. Then, after a painful few seconds, he gathered his courage and looked her in the eyes. “Then, would you have run?”

He stood up. “A cowardly little novice, that’s all I was then,” he said, his voice heavy. “And Martha…there is absolutely nothing I regret more, not in my 903 years. You must understand that.”

“But Doctor,” she consoled him, “you were so young back then! Young, foolish—surely your years have taught you that? If living with that burden for nearly 600 years isn’t enough of a penance, I don’t know what is! Please, Doctor, just try to let it go.”

He was silent. “I just hope,” he said, almost inaudibly, “that the other Time Lords haven’t caught on to the ghosts yet…we’re very perceptive, you know. A message here could travel to the other end of the planet in less than thirty seconds if one of us used something called Contact. I’ve found it useful in the past…” He paused, remembering all the times he had used it to communicate with other Time Lords, and, on one occasion, with himself. Shaking his head, he said, “I just need to hope no one saw any of that. No Time Lords, anyway.”

He mustered a smile, despite his conflicts. “Well!” he said, waving vaguely at the Citadel, “We need to make it over there sometime, haven’t we? Allons-y!” Without warning, he leapt up and dashed off, Martha not far behind.

The emotional atmosphere seemed to hang in a heavy cloud around the Doctor as the pair stomped their way through the jungle. “We still need to be careful, Martha,” said the Doctor, hacking away at some vines with his Screwdriver. “It’s not over yet. In fact, we need to hurry…” he swallowed, disturbed.

Before Martha could ask him why, the familiar sound of the cannons began to resonate, louder than they had ever been. Instinctively, Martha froze. The Doctor, on the other hand, was running at full speed ahead.

“Martha, the wildlife is very nice and everything,” he shouted, stopping briefly, “but now is neither the time nor the place to admire it! They’re too close to us now! There’s no point in bypassing their radar! We need to run!”

Cabaret went very well! I got some very positive responses and my monologue killed. If you want to see pictures/videos from the show, add me on MySpace at http://myspace.com/hippiezoe . Make sure you tell me you read the Blue Box, though!

I graduate this week. Wa-hey. Should be great. I guess. Except that one of my best friends was named Valedictiorian and I have to admit, I’m a wee bit jealous.

Puhhhh.

Ah well.

Anyone know how long it takes a David Tennant fan letter to get a response? Just wondering.

*I wandered downtown in a 1940s ball gown, explaining to every staring bystander that I was not crazy, but on my way to rehearsal. Then an old lady yelled at me in Spanish. Now, I don’t speak much Spanish, but from what I gathered, she thought I was a spirit and was attempting to banish me back to my own time. Hence the spit on my shoe.

*I had a killer rehearsal. Everything went almost exactly according to plan, save for a very awkward scene in which Sally Bowles forgot her lines completely. But we restarted and all was well. It’s an honor, you know, playing the same character on stage in this production of Cabaret as Lotte Lenya once did. I’ll make that old diva proud.

*Interesting little moment while watching Planet of the Ood:

[Ood singing]
Me: Ow, my head.
The Doctor: Ow, my head.

Later:
Me: [rubs head]
The Doctor: [rubs head]

And even later:
Me: Where’s my Sonic Screwdriver, I wonder.
The Doctor: [pulls out Sonic Screwdriver]

Ahhh, life is weird.

I’ve temporarily lost laptop privileges. Okay, so maybe I might have broken a hinge on the screen…
In any event, I’m banished to the backroom computer for a while. Siigh. I guess it’s a step up from no cell phone, no use of any computer, and no Doctor Who until after graduation on the 22nd, however. So I’m fine with that.

Anyhow. I advise you not to read the next chapter until after you’ve read at least two back. It will be to your benefit.

That was all the Doctor could see around him. He couldn’t hear anything, either, except a kind of white noise, a noise which, he noted, was slowly filling the air and becoming almost unbearably loud. Shut UP, he wanted to shout, but no words would rise to his lips.

Then, slowly, the noise dissipated, and he became aware of a far more distinct noise.

“Doctor,” Martha was shouting frantically, “Doctor! Can you hear me? Please! Saysomething! Anything!” She sounded as if she were talking into a tin can.

The Doctor wanted to tell her that he was okay, to reach out, to do something, but he simply couldn’t move. Then, slowly, the blackness surrounding him cleared, and he was left with what looked like a dense fog.

He still couldn’t talk, he realized. But could he move?

With great strain, he was able to move his hand a little to the right, just far enough to touch his companion’s knee. She seemed to recognize this, however, and her face lit up.

“You’re alive!” she said tearfully. “I thought…I thought…”

Slowly, the Doctor shook his head. “Nevermind,” he was finally able to force out with difficulty. He paused. When he was certain he would be able to continue, he rasped, “Aloysius. That lying…cow. Where…is…he?”

The Doctor took in this bit of information with a deep breath and a grimace. Then, as if he’d recieved an unexpected jolt from a live electrical wire, he suddenly sat up fully, his face flushed with fury. “That stupid, othering Omega!* That lying, deceitful bastard! I hope he rots in a black star! Do you hear me? Rots!”

Never in her life had she seen the Doctor (or anyone else, for that matter) so angry. But she watched him vent, deciding it would be best for both of them if she didn’t interrupt.

The Doctor was absolutely furious. His breath escaped him in livid gasps, eyes sunken and glazed.

He reached into his pocket and produced a small fob watch, much like Martha had once seen the Doctor use. The only difference was that it was a shade of bloody, glittering red, while the Doctor‘s had been silver. He had stored his Time Lord self within such a watch at the time. Suddenly, Martha realized what Aloysius’ watch was for.

“No!” she cried, but it was too late. Aloysius flicked open the watch in one swift movement. An almighty shriek sounded from it, stirring the Doctor, whose eyes widened in horror at what he saw before him.

“Oh, dear God…no…please…” he pleaded helplessly to the malevolent, glittering eyes of the Decori.

A massive silvery form, much like a thunder cloud, rose from the watch. It hovered for a moment, then exploded into hundreds of fragments. All was dead silent–until the fragments came alive. Each of them began to take on a humanlike form–but the Doctor, sickened, knew they weren’t humans at all.

The ghosts of a thousand Time Lords had risen.

A searing, unbearable pain tore through the Doctor’s body, an ungodly scream rising from his lips. It felt as though he was being ripped apart from the inside, each and every one of his cells being torn in half, one by one.

They were moving through him rapidly, the pain of one fading no sooner than the torment of another had started. His surroundings faded in and out of focus from around him, like an old TV set with a faulty knob. He could hear Martha screaming and sobbing in the background–she was near to him, he knew, but she sounded as though she were miles away.

He closed his eyes. The agony of each passing soul was bound to fade to a gentle numbness soon enough, he thought, and, after what seemed like an eternity, it did.

The trio was frozen once again, silent. The sound of the war cannons resonated though the nighttime desert, and the Doctor winced as the cries of each fallen Time Lord echoed in the distance, knowing that with each man who spilled his blood, his fate worsened.

After another agonizing few minutes, he released a pent-up breath, signaling to his companions that it was okay to move again.

“Close one,” murmured the Doctor distractedly. The circles under his eyes were even darker now, and he looked ready to fall over any second.

Concerned, Martha inclined her head towards Aloysius and said, “I’d like to speak to the Doctor for a moment. Alone. May I…?”

Aloysius looked reluctant, but nodded in agreement. “I should start to settle our things down for the night, anyway…” he said, almost to himself. He walked off.

“Nevermind that,” said Martha hastily, “The more important question at the moment is how you are. What’s wrong with you? And don’t give me any of that false ‘what-are-you-talking-about’ bollocks. I know something is going on that you’re not telling me, and I want to know what.”

The Doctor sighed heavily and turned to face his friend with wistful, bloodshot eyes. “Martha,” he said, closing his eyes for a moment, “Going back to this planet has made me tired, almost too tired to stay the course.” He paused for a minute, as if saying that much had been a strain.

“Every step I take in this terrain reminds me of something new, something else I didn’t even know I remembered at all. It’s like digging through a memory chest that your parents kept locked up from you. Fatigue, Martha. That’s all it is. But look!” he pointed to the nearby Citadel, “We’re almost there! So close..”

Suddenly, his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed onto the ground in back of him.

“Doctor!” shrieked Martha.

He didn’t respond.

“He’s not dead,” drawled an unpleasant voice from behind Martha.

She placed an ear to the Doctor’s chest. Sure enough, both hearts were still beating, albeit more slowly.

“What’s wrong with him?” she choked, her eyes red.

“Remember how he said that he didn’t sleep…unless he really, really had to? Well, that’s about now. He has no control over it at this point. Let him sleep,” replied Aloysius sagely.

Martha nodded, but suddenly something strange occurred to her. “Wait a minute,” she said slowly, “How could you possibly have known that he said that? Those were his exact words…but you were miles off when he told me! He said so just hours before we had to run from the…” she broke off. Everything was beginning to make sense.

“It was you,” she whispered, a fire in her voice, “You sent those ghosts after him. They chased us to you, and when we found you, you called them off! And now that we’re almost there…”

Aloysius’s extraordinarily handsome face suddenly twisted into a hideous grin. “Excellent! I must say,” he cackled awfully, “I’m impressed. You’re not nearly as stupid as you look, Martha Jones. But now, I’m afraid the Doctor must die.”

“Puh!” snorted the Doctor, “Don’t you remember what happened to Charlie?”

Having had quite enough, Martha stopped abruptly in her tracks. Facing both of them, she near-bellowed, “What’s in there, who’s Charlie, and why the hell aren’t you telling me anything?”

Both men fell silent. “Sorry, Martha,” said the Doctor sheepishly.”

“Tell me what’s going on!” she snapped in reply.

The Doctor sighed and fidgeted with his collar for a moment. “Well…might as well prepare you for the worst…”

“Nonsense,” interrupted Aloysius, “You’ll frighten the young lady!”

“Excuse me, but I think I can handle it,” spat Martha in disgust. “Now, Doctor, what were you saying?”

The Doctor sighed. “What’s in there is a horde of Taclydia. Now, my thickheaded friend over here says that they don’t come out during the day, but I’m not too sure…”

“Ugh,” Martha shuddered, “Do I even want to know what they are?”

He smiled grimly. “Oh, believe me. You’ll know them when you see them.”

As if in reply, a loud shriek rattled the trees around them. The air was suddenly alive with ferocious winds, and the ground seemed to shake.

“They don’t come out during the day!” mocked the Doctor coldly.

“Oh, save your high-horsery and run for it!” shouted Aloysius, who had already departed the scene, over his shoulder.

The trio dashed through the jungle as the gigantic, reptilian creature zoomed overhead, screeching madly.

“Keep running,” panted the Doctor, as if they had a choice, “because there’s a hell of a lot more where that came from!”

He was right. Following the first Taclydian were two more, possibly even larger in size. Suddenly, the Doctor had an idea. “Duck!” he shouted. Even Aloysius obeyed without question, the Doctor’s presence was so commanding. Amazingly, the Taclydia seemed to have lost track of them. Vexed, they soared away.

“Why…” Martha wheezed, “why did they just leave us alone like that?”

Having regained his breath much more quickly than his friends, the Doctor promptly explained. “Taclydia,” he informed them, “can’t see anything more than fifty feet below them. If you figure each of our heights–” he paused, then smirked slightly at Aloysius, “–actually, Al…it’s just you. You’re six feet, two inches, and exactly–” he pulled his Sonic Screwdriver out of his coat pocket, scanning Aloysius from poll to toe, “forty-five millimeters tall, which puts you at precisely forty-nine feet and eleven inches below the monsters!”

“They’re exactly that sensitive,” snapped the Doctor, “Now, if you want any of us to survive, you’ll be snaking along the jungle floor for the duration of our journey through our journey through this Godforsaken area that you selected!”

Aloysius opened his mouth to argue, but the Doctor appeared so stern that he thought it best not to argue and began to crawl.

The Doctor seemed to relish this as they traveled through the Taclydian territory. Martha even thought she saw him suppress a laugh after a quick glance at their floor-bound companion.